How To Enjoy Thanksgiving and Not Get Fat

November means one thing in the fitness world - Thanksgiving.

I want you to totally pig out at Thanksgiving dinner, and still look like a rockstar.  To do that, you've got to start now. 

You should earn the right to pig out at Thanksgiving dinner. 

That means tightening up your workouts and nutrition right now.  Start keeping a food log now.  The time between now and Thanksgiving is critical.

The best way to manage weight gain at Thanksgiving is to lean up right now. 

If you lose 2lbs of fat per week, every week between now and Thanksgiving, you'd lose 10lbs total.  With a smart workout program and a food log, losing 2lbs per week is totally realistic. 

You can totally lose 10lbs in the next 5 weeks.  Then if you gain 2lbs at Thanksgiving, you're still 8lbs leaner than you are right now.

Earn the right to be able to eat what ever you want on Thanksgiving, and not feel guilty at all.

My clients manage to enjoy Thanksgiving and come out ok on the other side.  Most Americans get fatter because of Thanksgiving, and keep that fat until Christmas, when they gain more fat.

I want you to enjoy Thanksgiving, and in truth, I want you stuff your face until you pass out.  It's only one meal, and one meal won't be the end of the world.  But that's if it's only one meal.

Most people's Thanksgivings spill over into the whole following week. 

People have such an "on diet" or "off diet" mentality, that they destroy themselves.  They figure if they eat one "bad" thing then they might as well give up.   So they figure after "messing up their whole diet" on Thanksgiving, they might as well keep on pigging out the next day, and the day after that.  Hey why not keep on going straight through 'til New Years.  That kind of thinking will put you 5 or 10lbs fatter at that New Years party.

I want you to plan to pig out for one day - on Thanksgiving - and then stick to that plan.  And then get back to your clean, whole food, low calorie, balanced nutrition plan the next day.  Stick to that plan.  You can totally go crazy on Thanksgiving, just keep it to Thanksgiving Day.

Go back to your eating plan and go back to your workouts.  The 2lbs of fat you gain you'll lose the next week, and then you'll be even leaner when you roll into the New Years. 

Fat loss expert Alwyn Cosgrove just asked on his blog "Do you want to be the hot girl in the little black dress at the New Years party that everyone is talking about?"  There's 12 weeks of training between now and then.

Or do you want to gain 8lbs over November and December like most Americans? 

Waiting for January to make a new New Years Resolution is a mistake.

Set yourself up for the holidays by making smart food choices now.  I recommend reading Tosca Reno's Eating Clean.

Get on a smart workout program now.  I always recommend for guys to get Men's Health writer Craig Ballentyne's Turbulence Training, or for girls to get my own 8 week fat blasting workout program: The Stubborn Seven Pounds.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

Josh is a kettlebell instructor and personal trainer in Denver, Colorado.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

Comments

[Heather Biaggne]

Thanks Josh! I'm keeping my food log! I'm going to meet the challenge - 10 lbs by Thanksgiving!

Heather

[Joshua Hillis]

Heather, this is totally your time.

Stay on top of the workouts and the food log and it's a done deal.

[Antuanne]

It is very important know how many calories you are eating each day. You need a certain number of calories to keep your body functioning and provide energy for physical activities.
The number of calories that you should eat depends of your weight, age, height, your activity levels and whether you are trying to lose weight, maintain or gain.